


One Word Prompts

by Viper_Rock



Category: Glee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-23 07:12:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 46
Words: 13,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2538968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viper_Rock/pseuds/Viper_Rock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I give myself one word to use as a prompt, and see what happens.</p><p>Primarily starring Rachel, Santana, and Quinn, although there will be others. For the most part, these are standalone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shallow (Q, R)

**Author's Note:**

> The shorthand for characters I use in my chapter headings, because the usual portmanteaus are way too long for me:  
> S - Santana, Q - Quinn, R - Rachel, B - Brittany, NP - Puck, MC - Mike, F - Finn, K - Kurt, MJ - Mercedes, ND - New Directions
> 
> Started writing these a long time ago. I'll post more as I get around to them.

"Oh my god. You're so shallow!"

"I'm shallow?" Quinn's voice cracked in outrage. " _I'm_  shallow? Really? I've lost my home, my friends, and my popularity. You haven't lost  _anything_ , and you're calling  _me_ shallow?"

"Yes, Quinn, I am."

Quinn stared at Rachel, who stared back, ultimatum shining in her eyes.

"Fuck you," Quinn whispered finally. "Just- Fuck you."

She pushed past Rachel, down the stairs, and out the door. Quinn was gone before Rachel could gather herself together enough to shout after her.

"Quinn!"


	2. Forever (S/Q)

Santana propped herself up on one elbow, staring down at the beautiful girl snoozing in her bed, dappled sunlight shining through the window and drawing patterns on her skin.

"I can't believe you're mine."

A smile crossed the lips of the supposedly sleeping girl. "You're a sap." Quinn's voice was deep and raspy.

Santana tried to hold an offended glower, but it melted away as she continued to gaze at her girlfriend. "Only for you, baby." She laid back down and tugged Quinn into her arms to snuggle together. "I'm yours, too, you know," she whispered directly into Quinn's ear.

"Forever."


	3. Travel (S/Q)

"This was all your idea," Santana griped as she kicked a chair before folding herself down into it, drawing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs as she stared around the busy airport.

Quinn nodded miserably as she watched her girlfriend. It had been her idea. She'd hoped that getting out of town would help Santana get better.

It had worked for a little while. Things were  _great_ in the car. More than great. Santana had held her hand, smiled at her, and even kissed her while they sat at a stop light once. Things were going so great, and Quinn was just so  _happy_ to see Santana happy.

Then their flight got redirected. And their luggage got lost. And Santana's anxiety came back tenfold and then some.

Quinn slumped into another of the chairs, leaving one between her and Santana so the other girl wouldn't feel crowded.

"I'm sorry."

Santana shifted uncomfortably in her seat, then abruptly stood up and jerkily re-situated herself in the seat next to Quinn.

Quinn just looked at her, apologetic, loving, and grateful for Santana's presence.

Santana looked away, shrugging. "It's not your fault." Quinn could not have been more surprised when Santana's hand reached out and took hers, clasping it tightly.

They sat in silence, holding hands, and Quinn found it was possible to be more surprised when she heard Santana say, barely audible over the airport's noise-

"I love you."


	4. Lure (S/B, S/Q)

Santana hoped it worked. It had taken weeks to set up. Weeks of sweet talking, making nice, and biting her tongue on sarcastic comments every two seconds. But it was worth it, for this moment.

Because this moment was the one where Quinn would see that she wasn't the only blonde in the school worthy of Santana's time. She had competition. And if Quinn wanted Santana, then she would have to give a little, too, just like Santana did.

"Hi San!"

A blonde rocket slammed into her, and Santana had to stop herself from calling the girl clinging to her shoulders an idiot and a loser and a freak of nature before she ruined all of her hard work.

"Hey, Britt." Santana smiled sweetly when she saw Quinn turn to look at them.

When Quinn looked away, unaffected, Santana forced the smile to stay on her face, frozen and transparent to anyone with half a brain and a pair of eyes.

The girl on Santana's arm chattered away, oblivious, as Santana watched another blonde walk away, and felt her heart break.


	5. Smell (Q, S/R)

"What have you two been  _doing_ in here?" Quinn's nose wrinkled as she entered Santana and Rachel's apartment. The smell of sex was overpowering, and she rushed to open a few windows.

"What do you think we've been doing, Q? Don't tell me it's been that long since you rode-" Santana stepped out of the bathroom, easily ignoring her own nudity while Quinn averted her eyes.

"Don't finish that sentence," Quinn warned. "And for Christ's sake- Can't you at least light a  _candle_ or something, if you won't open a window?"

Rachel stumbled out of the bathroom after Santana, covering herself modestly with a towel.

"Oh my god." Quinn stared at Rachel.

Santana looked over, realized Quinn was staring at Rachel, and frowned at the blonde. "Hey-"

"It looks like you were attacked by a bear!"

Rachel looked down at herself while Santana finally took a good look at her girlfriend.

"Wow," Santana said, eyes wide. "Babe, why didn't you tell me to back off a bit?"

Rachel was equally wide eyed. "I didn't know you were biting this hard. And in case you couldn't tell, I was rather enjoying myself."

"Okay-" Quinn interrupted them. "I'm just going to turn on the TV while you two get dressed. And don't start any funny business," she warned. "We're supposed to be at lunch in an hour."


	6. You (Q/S)

"It's _you_?" Quinn breathed in disbelief.

Santana looked around shiftily. She had one hand holding Quinn's locker open, and the other hiding on her far side, out of Quinn's sight.

Caught redhanded. There was no way she'd be able to convince Quinn she wasn't the one who'd been putting things in Quinn's locker for the past month and a half.

Quinn should have guessed. There were only so many people who had access to her locker combination. There were fewer who knew about her love for Mickey Mouse and his friends.

"Santana-"

Santana flinched, and almost slammed the locker shut. "Don't, Q. I know you're not-" Quinn was alarmed to see Santana's eyes take on a glossy sheen. Too alarmed to hear Santana's words and realize what Santana thought Quinn was going to say. "It doesn't mean anything. I just thought you'd like it, is all," Santana said roughly, shoving her latest gift deep into Quinn's locker before slamming it shut and walking hurriedly away. Halfway down the hall, Quinn saw her reach up and brush at her eyes, and felt her heart clench.

She hurried to her locker, spinning the lock quickly.

Once it opened, her breath caught. A small figurine of Mickey and Minnie was laying on its side in the back of her locker. She set it upright.

Santana hadn't given Quinn the chance to properly respond before she ran off. Quinn wasn't going to let the other girl off that easily. She wanted to thank Santana properly, for every sweet thing she'd done for Quinn from the shadows. She figured she would start by asking the girl to go to dinner with her.

On a date.

And Quinn knew just where to take her soon-to-be girlfriend.


	7. Firm (Q/S/B)

She woke up to find herself being pressed into the mattress by the weight of another person draped over her back. She could feel their breath on her back, between her shoulder blades, and hoped that whoever it was hadn't drooled on her in the night.

Her next thought was to realize that there was a third person in the bed. She opened her eyes, blearily making out that they were stretched out on their side and facing away from her. A woman. Blonde. Brittany.

Santana breathed out a sigh of relief. If nothing else, she could rest assured she hadn't cheated on Brittany.

The body on top of her stirred, and Santana discovered the person on top of her was a woman. The woman turned her head and kissed Santana's back, inhaling deeply before letting the breath out with a groan. Santana stiffened. That groan sounded familiar.

"I knew it was a mistake to drink that much."

Brittany rolled over. "There's some water on the nightstand, Quinn."

"Thanks, B." Quinn levered herself up off of Santana enough to reach the bottled water and drank half of it before resuming her comfortable position on top of the darker girl. She shifted again to kiss Santana's neck. "Morning, S."

Santana mrph'd. Brittany giggled.

Well... If they were okay with it, Santana figured she didn't have anything to be upset about except that she couldn't remember it.

Rolling over underneath Quinn, Santana looked into hazel eyes and found none of the regret she would have expected out of Quinn. There was nothing stopping her.

Santana hummed at the feeling of Quinn's firm breasts against her, and experimentally rolled her hips. She smirked lazily when she saw the spark of desire in Quinn's eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in Randoms #53, Firm.


	8. Praise (Q)

Quinn sat, head bowed, staring down at her hands where they were clasped between her knees. She could feel her throat tightening with anxiety as she listened to the pastor's sermon. She hated coming to church.

It was a new thing, the hatred of this building and most of the people in it. She hated the God they believed in. The God she believed in was kind. Forgiving. The God she believed in loved all of His children, even the ones who strayed from His path.

The God Quinn believed in would never judge or condemn her best friends for loving each other in the way they did. Santana and Brittany were the most loving people Quinn had ever seen, and she just couldn't believe there was anything wrong with them.

She wrung her fingers together to stop herself from putting her hands on her stomach. She hoped He would forgive her, too.


	9. Kingdom (R/S)

"King me," Rachel said with a flourish as she snapped her piece down onto the board.

"Babe, we're not playing checkers," Santana said into the hand she'd covered her face with. "You have to get one of these ones to the other side if you want an upgrade." She pointed out one of Rachel's pawns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in One Word Prompts #29, Knight.


	10. Bonds (S/R)

"You've got to be kidding me." Santana groaned as she realized what Rachel was up to. "Really? Tied to the friggin' bedposts? Couldn't you just want normal sex like any normal girl?"

"Santana, I'll have you know that a large percentage of-"

"Whatever. Why do you wanna do this so bad?"

"Because," Rachel said with a soft look. "I trust you, and I want you to know it."


	11. Gay (S, Lopez Family)

Santana's fists and jaw clench as she stares at the wall fixedly. If she looks at her family, she knows she'll burst into tears, and won't be able to defend herself from the onslaught that she's sure is coming.

"I'm gay, alright? I said it, it's true, and I'm in love with Brittany, whether you like it or not."

She's surprised by the silence that meets her announcement, and after a minute she gives into the urge to turn and look.

When she sees their reaction, her legs turn to jelly and she leans back against the wall for support, and tears do in fact start falling.

Santana's dad is watching her, eyes wet as he gives her a look filled with pride and holds her mother in his arms. Her mother is crying, but smiling. And her little brother is sitting on his hands on the couch, looking curiously from Santana to their parents and back again.

He opens his mouth, "Wasn't that supposed to be a secret?"

The question is directed to Santana's parents, and she realizes that they must have known. Somehow, they must have known, just like everyone at school, even though Santana had done everything she could to hide it.

A moment later, her brother is hugging her leg, and Santana falls to her knees to hug him to her.

When she feels their parents' arms wrap around her as well, Santana thanks God in every way she knows for the unconditional love of her family.


	12. Gate (S/B)

Santana took a deep breath as she stared at the house. She couldn't bring herself to get out of her car. Here she was, some self-proclaimed badass, and she couldn't even get out of her car.

She was just so terrified that Brittany wouldn't even want to see her. She'd screwed up so bad she wouldn't blame the blonde if she slammed the door in Santana's face and told her not to come back.

Santana couldn't imagine what she would do if Brittany did that. Brittany was the center of Santana's world. _Was_ Santana's world. If Brittany turned her away... Just thinking about it made Santana feel like she was about to shatter into a million pieces.

"Britt..." she whimpered in the silence of her car.

She could do this. All she had to do was get out of the car, open the gate in the white picket fence that Brittany had wanted since they were five and were promising they'd get married one day and live in a three bedroom home with a yard and two kids and their dog, and knock on the door. Then start apologizing and begging Brittany to forgive her and hope to hell that Brittany didn't slam the door.

She could do this.

Santana took another deep breath and opened the car door. She could do this.


	13. Cynical (Q/B, S/R)

She supposed that if she'd had to guess what would happen tonight before she arrived, she would have anticipated Finn's reaction.

Quinn just couldn't help it, though. She was so happy to show up with Brittany on her arm, and Rachel on Santana's, and all four of them laughing as Rachel's dad played chauffer and dropped them off. It was like a dream come true.

Quinn had let go of her usual anxieties, quit worrying about appearances, and just focused on having fun, for once in her formerly miserable life.

Now she was in the bathroom berating herself internally as she mopped up the mess of punch that coated both herself and her girlfriend. Brittany was looking at her like she couldn't understand why Finn wasn't happy that they were happy, and Quinn was trying to keep her snarl off her face so she didn't scare her. The only reason she wasn't out there ripping Finn's skin off piece by piece was Rachel forcing her to take care of Brittany instead while Santana laid into Finn.

Hopefully, she'd managed to draw blood before someone pulled her off the boy.

"Quinn?"

Quinn heard the emotion in Brittany's voice, and realized she had paused, scowling down at her hands, long enough to make her girlfriend worry.

"Sorry."

"I'm sorry Finn's a jerk, Quinn," Brittany said, shocking Quinn.

Meeting Brittany's eyes, she realized that Brittany did understand. She understood that the world wasn't all rainbows, and never would be.


	14. Forbidden (Q/S)

Santana slipped through Quinn's window almost silently, just a shadow in the moonlight. She'd made this trip so regularly she felt like she could do it blindfolded. She practically had, a few times, when it was particularly dark and the weather was particularly nasty.

"San." A quiet voice and a pair of soft hands greeted her before before their owner's lips did, and Santana sighed into the gentle kiss, feeling the tension drain out of her shoulders.

"I missed you, baby," Santana said, voice hushed, as it always was in this house.

"I missed you, too. You have no idea how much."

Santana pulled Quinn's body against hers. "Oh, I think I've got a fair idea."


	15. Eulogy (Q, B, Dog)

Quinn stares at the mound of earth, unmoving.

She remembers, vividly, in larger than life color, every moment she'd spent with him. Laughing as they tumbled in the park, getting completely covered in grass. They'd gone swimming in the pond, once, too. They'd found ducks, and Quinn just _had_ to tell Brittany all about it.

A hand touches Quinn's shoulder, and she twists around to stare wide-eyed at Brittany.

"I'm sorry about Winnie, Q," Brittany says, sadness in her eyes as she looks past Quinn. "But you'll see him again. All dogs go to heaven, right?"

Quinn feels her spirits lift, just a bit. "Right. All dogs go to heaven." She looks down at the squeaky red ball in her hands, remembering her bear of a dog. She puts it down square in the middle of the patch of dirt. "Bye, Win," she murmurs.


	16. Want (Q/R) (NSFW)

It burned. Every touch, every sound, every taste left a burning, growing fire in its wake so strong that Quinn couldn't breathe, but could only let out strangled moans and cries as she writhed.

"You can do it, baby," Rachel said into her ear, voice deep with desire. "All you have to do is just let go."

Quinn wanted to, so badly. Rachel wanted Quinn to know what she felt every time Quinn touched her like this, and Quinn wanted to understand it, too. But letting herself go was like jumping off a cliff. She'd get so close to the edge, only to come to a screeching halt as she tried to force herself to jump but found herself clinging harder to the safety of solid ground.

Rachel's mouth trailed wetly down Quinn's throat, and Quinn moaned again. "Rach- Please-"

Then Rachel's fingers, deep inside of Quinn, hit a spot that made her vision go white and her body arch off the bed as she finally let herself fall.

Rachel took her hand, grounding Quinn as she cried, body still trembling. "You're okay, baby. I've got you."


	17. Gold (R)

Rachel twisted the ring on her finger idly, lost in thought. It was supposed to be different than this. She was supposed to feel different.

All she felt was empty. The thrill was gone. The expectation. The excitement. All of the adrenaline that had prevented her from thinking ahead to this moment. It was done now. She couldn't undo it. Not without admitting she'd made a huge, life-altering mistake that would lead to a lifetime of misery not only for her, but for the person she'd tied herself to, because she was too afraid to admit that the adrenaline came from _fear_ , not happiness. She couldn't bring herself to cause heartbreak, and thus commited it twice over.

She stared at the ring.

_I'm sorry._


	18. Hurricane (Q/R/S)

"We're supposed to be on vacation!" Santana raged. " _Vacation_! Not holed up in some midieval dungeon hoping the roof doesn't come down on our heads!"

Rachel heard the wind shriek ominously through the building above them and a shiver of fear ran down her spine. A warm body settled into the space behind her and arms wrapped around her comfortingly. "Quinn..."

"It'll be okay."

Rachel drew strength from her girlfriend's warm voice. "You can't promise that."

"Doesn't matter. I know we're going to be fine." Quinn's gaze tracked Santana as she paced back and forth. "Santana," she called.  
Santana swung to face them. Her pupils were dilated and her breath was coming short and fast.

"Come here," Quinn told her, holding out a hand for Santana to take when she was close enough. Up close, she could see that Santana was almost deathly pale. "Baby, you're scaring Rachel," Quinn said more for Santana's benefit than Rachel's. It was true, but Santana's anger was just a small contribution to Rachel's fear.

Santana's anger, on the other hand, was borne from mounting panic, caused not only by the storm whirling above them but by the dimly lit basement they were enclosed in, and they all knew it.

Santana dropped to the ground next to her two girlfriends, pressing herself into them. "I'm sorry," she said. She knew her behavior wasn't helping.

"It's not your fault. We'll be okay." Rachel cupped Santana's cheek and felt Quinn smile against her skin as Rachel repeated her words from earlier.

Santana nodded. "Yeah. Definitely. And then we can start this damn vacation over again. Minus any kind of disaster that needs a _basement_."


	19. Style (S)

Style. Fashion. It was something Santana knew well. She lived it and breathed it, used it as a shield and a mask. It was something that terrified her, precisely because she knew it so well. She knew how quickly which styles were in and which were out could change, and how quickly stereotypes and stigmas could attach themselves to a certain type of appearance.

Which was why she used it. Almost abused it. Drew all of the attention so she could project the image she wanted as strongly as she could, manipulating everyone into believing she was straight, a tough badass who knew what she wanted and took it with ease.

It almost scared her how easily Brittany could see through it.

But she was never more grateful for it than when she was held safely in Brittany's arms.


	20. Bearable (Q, MJ)

"You know, she's almost bearable now," Quinn mused out loud.

Next to her, Mercedes shot her an "Are you crazy?" look.

"I mean it. She's... Well, she's not any quieter, but she's easier to be around."

"Girl, I think you might be losing it," Mercedes said. "That girl hasn't changed a bit."

Quinn frowned and propped her head on her hand, letting her eyes drift across the room to settle on Rachel. She felt an inexplicable draw towards the smaller girl. "I don't know what it is, then. But it's true."


	21. Loyal (S/R)

"I would never cheat on you," Santana said with finality. "Ever."

Rachel bit her lip as she looked at her fiancee. "I know. I know that, but-"

"But what? How can you _know_ that and still have doubts? I've never lied to you- I can't even keep a surprise _date_ hidden for ten minutes when I'm with you! And with Brittany? She's even worse than I am!" Santana's breathing was ragged when she stopped. "How could you believe I would do that to you? I love you, Rachel."

Rachel stared at her feet, ashamed of herself for believing the rumors for even a second. But she couldn't deny the way her heart had skipped a beat when she heard them. It brought back all the insecurities she'd had when their relationship first started, when Santana and Brittany's history together was still fresh.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was just afraid. You're- You're _you_ and-"

Santana reared back, looking like she'd been slapped. "What? I'm the slut that sleeps around and can't keep it in her pants? I'm not like that anymore. Not since you."

"That's not what I was going to say! You're you and I'm _me_."

It hit Santana then that this wasn't Rachel doubting her, it was Rachel doubting herself. Like she wasn't good enough for Santana, wasn't enough for her. That couldn't be further from the truth.

She softened. "That's why I would never cheat on you, baby. I'm so lucky to have you, I don't wanna ever screw it up."


	22. Misdirection (NP, K, ND)

Puck dodged left, narrowly avoiding the hard ball of paint that splattered against the concrete wall behind him, and ducked under a wooden platform.

"Shit," he swore and flattened himself against a wall as more paint whizzed past him.

He couldn't believe the situation he was in. He never would have thought it _possible_ , in a million years, for _Rachel Berry_ and _Kurt Hummel_ to be paintball sharks! Rachel was some kind of uber pacifist, and Kurt practically cried if he even a tiny stain on any of his designer clothing.

It just blew his mind.

His eyes widened when he saw Finn trudging off the field, gun held high to show he was out, his back splattered with the purple paint that signified Rachel and Kurt's team.

Finn was _his_ partner- That Finn was out meant Puck was alone on the battlefield, without anyone to watch his back. He couldn't remember who else he'd seen get tagged out. He'd gotten Santana, who'd cursed him out angrily as she stormed off the field, and then Finn had gotten Brittany. Puck had winced inwardly at that- Santana was going to have it in for him during the next game. Finn would be lucky if he escaped with just bruises. Santana was likely to shoot his feet out from under him before she took him out.

More shots rang out, and Puck realized he was going to have to make a run for it. He couldn't just hide there forever.

Gathering himself, he charged out, aiming for the tower not far from his position.

He took three steps before he came to a screeching halt, a gun pointed straight to his chest.

"Ah, fuck," he swore again as he looked at Kurt. "Come on!"

"Surrender or be fired upon," Kurt demanded.

At such close range, Puck didn't want to imagine how much it would hurt to get hit. But as a badass football player-

"Never give up, never surrender!" he bellowed as he threw himself sideways and brought his gun to bear on Kurt.

His gun was halfway up when three shots slammed into his side, and he realized that thankfully, it hadn't been Kurt shooting him point blank, but Rachel sniping him from the top of the tower he'd been running for.

When Kurt whooped and threw his fist in the air victoriously, and an answering holler came from the tower, Puck realized he'd been the last one taken out.

He wondered when he would remember to stop underestimating his friends.


	23. Queer (NP)

Puck looked into the mirror, glad for his natural tan because otherwise he knew he'd look a sickly green color.

He never thought he would be the one in this position. The one making this kind of discovery. I mean, yeah, he'd had a few dreams where it wasn't chicks he was with- But doesn't everyone have dreams like that?

He glanced at the bathroom door. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this one without facing it in one way or another. He could either deny it and be a complete asshole, or he could accept it, and at least give the guy out there a chance get his clothes together before Puck shoved him out the door. Or maybe gave him a cup of coffee.

Puck turned the faucet and splashed some water on his face.

Fuck it. He was the Puckzilla of McKinley High, and he never turned his back on his actions. He'd stuck with Berry, for the short while he'd dated her, he'd stuck with Quinn and tried to do as right by her as she would let him, and he would face up to the fact that he'd slept with a guy and enjoyed it just as much as he did with a lady.

But he did still like the ladies.


	24. Loyalty (S/R)

"Baby, you didn't need to do that," Rachel said as she brushed Santana's hair free of tangles. There was still a faint blue tint to the skin around her left ear, but it would have to wait until Santana could get a proper shower.

"If I'm wearing it, it means you're not," Santana said staunchly.

"I can take it, Santana."

"And I can't?"

"No, baby, I don't think you can."


	25. Blink (Q, R, S, B, NP)

"Roll a perception check." Quinn looked over the cardboard wall she'd set up between herself and Rachel, Santana, Brittany, and Puck.

"Seriously?" Santana griped. "Again? Didn't we just do this?"

"Shh," Rachel hushed her. "We're in a new place! We need to see what's around."

"Oh my god." Santana dropped her head, forehead hitting the table with a thunk. It figured Rachel would get into this. Why hadn't Santana clued into that before she'd agreed to play? It was roleplaying. _Role_ playing. And combined with Rachel's love of jumping straight into trouble only to rely on sheer luck to get out- This was a game all but custom made for her.

"So I'm guessing Conan just picks his toes or something while everyone else looks around?" Quinn asked Santana.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Santana pushed her paper closer to her face with one finger so she could read it without lifting her head. "He's got negatives there, anyway."

"Not that it matters." Puck snickered. "You haven't rolled over a ten yet."

Santana threw a D20 at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in One Word Prompts #27, Dragon.


	26. Winter (S, R)

"Remember that vacation we went on?" Rachel asked from where she was sprawled on the floor. "In the mountains?"

Santana made a dissatisfied sound. "Don't remind me. Please. It'll make this heat that much worse."

"It was so cold, and there was snow-" She was cut off as a pillow landed on her head. She sat up and glared at Santana. "Santana, it's a well documented fact that visualization can effect sensory perceptions. I'm trying to help."

"Yeah, well, your help sucks. I was trying not to think about how hot it is, and then you said that, and now it's all I can think about."

Rachel sighed as she flopped back down. "Sorry."

Santana dismissed the apology with a lazy wave of her hand. "Think the fridge is cooled down yet?"


	27. Dragon (Q, S, R, B)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from One Word Prompts #25, Blink.

"No. Uh-uh. No way. I am not playing that game of yours again."

"But San, without Conan's help, we'll never defeat the evil dragon."

Santana turned away before she could get caught by Brittany's puppy dog eyes.

"No. You guys have Sam now, you don't need my help."

"Yes, we do. Come on, Santana, please?"

Oh god. Santana busied herself in her locker. Two of them. Brittany's puppy dog eyes were bad enough. Combined with Rachel's, she was a complete goner.

Another person came up to them and Santana hoped it wasn't who she thought it was.

"So she hasn't agreed yet?"

Quinn. Of course it was exactly who Santana didn't want to see.

"No." Santana could hear Brittany's pout.

"You might as well give in, S."

"Ugh." Santana slammed her locker. "Fine. Alright. But if I have to roll one more Perception check-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in One Word Prompts #41, Inn.


	28. Disguise (R, Q)

"Shh. We don't want to get caught," Rachel hissed over her shoulder at Quinn before leaning around the corner to make sure the coast was clear.

"Mmhm," Quinn sarcastically agreed. "Speak for yourself- If it gets me out of this before it's too late, I'll take it."

"You say that now."

"I would rather not get caught in Sylvester's office! She may have a vendetta against Glee, but she can't do anything to _you_ \- I'm one of her Cheerios! She'll _kill_ me! I don't know how I got dragged into this. " What had started off as an offhand comment about how it would be nice to see Sylvester get taken down a peg or two for once had turned into an undercover mission in the dark of the night. "Why do I have to be here?"

"Because you have the key to her office," Rachel said bluntly. "We can't get in without you."

"Good. So I'll just turn around now."

"No! You can't."

"Like you can stop me."

"We're almost there, Quinn. You can't tell me you don't want to see her reaction."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at Rachel warningly, but conceded the point. She gestured Rachel forward. "If we get caught, I will make your life miserable."


	29. Knight (S/R)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from One Word Prompts #9, Kingdom.

"Don't tell me you still haven't learned the rules," Santana said as she looked at the knight Rachel had moved.

Rachel slid down in her seat a bit. "I watched a few Youtube videos," she admitted. "I'm sorry. I don't think it's my game. It's so complicated!"

Santana chuckled at her girlfriend. "Not really- You just have to think ahead a few more moves than you're used to. I guess I'm not too surprised. It's okay. You don't have to play just because I do."

Rachel pouted. "But I want to know how to play, so I can at least tell if you're winning or not, and cheer accordingly."

"Rach, I would love to have you there, you know that, but you might want to wait outside the competition room anyway. I'm pretty sure if you cheer as enthusiastically as I know you want to, you'll get yourself kicked out." Rachel's pout deepened, and Santana leaned over the table to kiss her. When she pulled back, the pout had been replaced by a smile. "And when I win, I know you'll be there to congratulate me."

"Oh, I _definitely_ plan to congratulate you," Rachel said. "Want a preview?"

Santana licked her lips at Rachel's suddenly lustful expression. "I _definitely_ want a preview."


	30. Ecstatic (B/S)

"It's so fluffy!" Brittany squealed as she rubbed her face against the plush fur of the stuffed animal Santana had just won for her.

Santana watched her in quiet adoration. Brittany was just... Perfect. She was perfect.

"Oof-" Santana grunted as Brittany threw her arms around her neck and glomped onto her in a smothering hug. "Britt, I need air." She laughed as she held onto the taller girl, not really wanting Brittany to let go but painfully aware of the crowded carnival around them. She was getting better, but Santana was still uncomfortable with public displays of affection.

Knowing Santana, Brittany loosened her hold and put a couple inches of space between them, but didn't release Santana. "I love you, San."

And just like that, Santana felt the tension ease as she softened. "I love you, too, Britt."

Brittany's smile grew impossibly wider. "C'mon, San- I want cotton candy. Oh, and I saw this purple tiger-"

Santana laughed as she shyly took Brittany's hand and laced their fingers together. For Brittany, she would do anything.

Even if it was going to cost her another fifty bucks to win her a stuffed tiger.


	31. Pessimistic (Q/R)

"Fucking-" Quinn growled as she tossed the stack of photographs onto her desk.

Rachel poked her head in Quinn's office door. "What's wrong, baby?"

Dropping her head onto her hands, Quinn groaned. "None of them are right. There's just something _missing_. From all of them. It's driving me insane."

"I'm sure you'll get it." Rachel massaged Quinn's shoulders. "Maybe you just need to sleep on it."

"That's just it, though! I've been doing that all week, and I still have nothing I can actually _use_. I need this to be perfect. My career could potentially be on the line here. Some of the companies who are supposed to be at this job fair are _huge_ , and they like to give internships to the seniors they like. Internships that actually lead to getting hired. It's not like I can just shake people's hands and hope they remember my name the next week when they look through applications. I need to make an impression they'll never forget."

Rachel perched on the arm of Quinn's chair and laid an arm over Quinn's shoulder. Quinn leaned into her, turning her face into Rachel's side and taking some calming breaths as Rachel gently rubbed her arm.

Rachel picked up the stack of pictures Quinn had tossed down. "Quinn, these are some beautiful shots. I'm sure they're good enough to catch anyone's attention."

"I want to do more than that, though. Catching their attention- I want to captivate them. So that they can't look away, even if they want to."

"If anyone can do it, Quinn, it's you."

Quinn tipped her head to look up at Rachel. "Rach, you captivate hundreds of people almost every day. You entrance audiences- Enchant them- with your voice and performance." She knew she was holding herself up to an impossible standard. No one could ever stand up to Rachel. But Quinn couldn't help but want to feel worthy of Rachel's love.

Looking up at Rachel while Rachel looked back down at her with love shining in her eyes, Quinn reached blindly for her camera, aiming it upwards and taking the shot. She couldn't resist snapping another when Rachel looked amusedly indulged her habits.

Quinn snapped a few more, smiling as Rachel started to laugh at her, and made sure to catch Rachel with her head thrown back and happiness in every line of her body.

Maybe Quinn was just looking in the wrong places for her inspiration. Because what she saw in front of her was exactly what she needed.


	32. Laconic (R/F)

"Why do you have to use so many words?" Finn asked Rachel helplessly. "I never understand what you're saying- That's not my fault!"

"It's not mine either," Rachel said sharply. "You could at least make an effort to pay more attention to what I'm saying."

"If you used smaller words, maybe I could."

Rachel sighed. "Finn, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to limit my vocabulary for your sake. I'm more than happy to explain whichever words you need, but if I hold myself back around you then sooner or later I'll find myself holding back everywhere, and that's just not acceptable."

"No, it's not. You should be trying to meet me halfway, but apparently you just want me to start carrying around a dictionary. That's not cool. It's not fair. And that's what we're trying to be." Finn looked disappointed. "Come talk to me when you actually want to work with me, and not work on me like I'm some kind of project."


	33. Clock (R/S)

"Hmmph." Rachel giggled as Santana nipped lightly at her ear and nuzzled her neck.

"Come on, babe. We've got the place to ourselves. Your dads are out for the weekend, I've got the all clear to stay the night, and no one is expecting us to be anywhere until school starts on Monday." Santana slipped her hands under Rachel's shirt, drawing patterns on Rachel's stomach and inching slowly upwards to trace the bottom edge of her bra. She felt a surge of heat at Rachel's low moan. "You know you want to."

Rachel did want to, but she forced herself to grab Santana's hands and pull them out of her shirt. "Can we go up to my room, at least?"

Santana shot eagerly to her feet. "Yeah." She pulled Rachel to her feet, deliberately pulling too hard so Rachel fell into her, and kissed her softly in a gesture almost contrary to her excitement. "We don't have to do more than you want to, Rach. Just tell me to go take a cold shower or something."

"I promise to tell you if you take things too far, Santana, but I don't think you will." Nervously, Rachel bit her lip, then took Santana's hand and guided it downwards to her core. "I don't think you'll be needing a cold shower this weekend."

Santana lost her breath when she felt Rachel's heat even through her pants. "Fuuuck- Rach- Baby, please don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing," Rachel said. "I think we've waited more than long enough."


	34. Tease (R/S)

"Will you stop that?" Santana hissed under her breath as she moved Rachel's hand off her thigh for what had to be the twentieth time since class started.

"Stop what?" Rachel asked innocently, but Santana could see the mischief she was hiding.

"Quit teasing me- It's not fair to get me worked up when you're not going to do anything about it. Unless you want me to tease you. I bet I can drive you insane during chemistry. We have lab today, so I can do practically whatever I want all period." Santana had more than a hundred percent in the class, so the teacher basically let her do whatever she wanted. As long as Santana turned in her work and took her tests, she could come and go as she pleased, even without Sylvester's free pass.

The purr of promise in Santana's voice sent a shiver through Rachel, and she realized that maybe she should have thought this through before she decided to play games with her girlfriend. She gulped. "Santana-"

This time, Santana put her hand on Rachel's thigh, scraping it lightly with her nails just below Rachel's skirt hem. "What?"

Rachel grabbed Santana's hand. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" Santana said with false innocence.


	35. Drown (S/?, SE, F)

She couldn't tell if she was breathing. Was she breathing? She couldn't feel her breath running in and out of her chest like normal. Was that normal? Why couldn't she breathe?

Her vision was blurred, and everything sounded muffled.

"--- just hap--" " _\--ke up, damn it!--_ " "--s she o--" "-Please!"

She managed to make out Finn, huge as he towered over her and rumbled with confusion. And Sam, also confused but calmer. She could hear Santana, too- Not confused. Too much fear to be confused. Panic. Santana was panicking.

Santana needed her, but she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't move to comfort Santana and tell her everything would be alright.

What had happened?

She tried to draw in a breath, and felt absolute _pain_ rip through her chest.

_What had happened?_

She felt a hand take hers, and knew it was Santana's, gripping hers tight enough to make her bones creak, then suddenly gentle as Santana kissed her palm. Warm liquid dripped onto her fingers. Santana was crying.

She was helpless. Nothing could ease Santana's anguish.


	36. Clan (S/R, Berry Family)

"Welcome to the Berry Clan Annual Picnic," Rachel said with a beaming smile as she opened Santana's door for her.

"More like Bear Clan," Leroy stage-whispered to Santana. "You should see her Uncle Vin and Aunt Claire- Big, brawny, voracious meat-eaters. Rachel hates them."

"I do not! Well, only a little," Rachel conceded at her dad's amused look. "And it's mostly their habits. They're generally quite congenial as long as they haven't gotten into the tequila."

Santana's nerves at meeting the entirety of Rachel's family weren't being helped by the banter Leroy and Rachel engaged in. It was almost as bad as when she'd met Rachel's dads for the first time as her girlfriend instead of her friend, or her friend instead of her tormentor.

Santana froze. "Rach- Do they know about-" She was cut off as Rachel kissed her swiftly and took her hands before stepping back, hands held between them.

"'Tana, they know I love you, and that you love me. Nothing else matters."

"But-"

Rachel brought their joined hands up and kissed them. "It'll be okay."

"Hey Rach! Who's your girlfriend?" A boy about their age called out mockingly.

"Is she deaf?" Another boy, identical to the first, joined in.

"She'd have to be-" the first started.

"Rodrigo! Julian! Stop it!" Rachel whirled to face them, fists clenched at her sides.

"Boys, leave Rachel alone," Leroy said imposingly, standing behind the two girls. "And leave Santana alone as well." The boys rolled their eyes and shrugged, turning away to find safer entertainment.

Behind a fuming Rachel, Leroy, in a real whisper to Santana, said, "Now those two Rachel really does hate, and she more than admits it. So you know," he smiled, "She'll say it when she means it."

Santana hadn't really believed Rachel when she said she'd never hated Santana for how she'd treated her. She still didn't. But maybe there was more truth to Rachel's statement than she'd let herself believe.

Rachel turned back around, smiling at Santana a touch timidly as she brushed her hair back behind her ear. Leroy slipped away unobtrusively so they could finish their talk.

"I may have a minor confession to make," Rachel said. "I didn't exactly tell everyone I had a girlfriend. I mostly just made sure the important people knew, and let them tell who they wanted."

Looking at the mass of people spread around the park, Santana couldn't find it in herself to blame Rachel for the white lie she'd told. "I can kinda see why, if you've got a couple of jerks like that around." Santana took Rachel's hand again, suddenly feeling more at ease. "Come on, babe. Show me around. Let me impress the important people."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in One Word Prompt #39, Clan.


	37. Forbidden (Q/S/R)

"No. I forbid you from entering this house. I don't care what explanations you have, what excuses you can manufacture, or what possible justifications you try to pull together, you are not entering this house. _Nothing_ can justify the treatment you've given my daughter, and I don't believe for one second that you're actually sorry about it."

Leroy filled the door to the Berry house, blocking it with his body as he towered over Santana and Quinn.

"I believe your claim that you're actually _friends_ now even less."

Quinn and Santana both looked away, ashamed of themselves because he _was_ entirely justified.

"It's true, though," Santana muttered. They _were_ friends now. They were actually-

"Baby!"

Leroy was suddenly shoved aside as Rachel pushed through the door to rocket into Quinn. Leroy gaped as Rachel kissed Quinn full on the mouth in an enthusiastic greeting.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Quinn grinned dazedly. "We wanted to surprise you."

Santana was pouting when Rachel finally turned to her. "About time you noticed me." Her pout faded to a soft smile when Rachel stepped into her arms and kissed her as well.

"I'm sorry, 'Tana. I just saw Quinn's car and Quinn and-"

Santana shut her up with another kiss. "Chill, I get it. It's all good, Midge."

"Ahem," Leroy cleared his throat loudly, causing Quinn and Santana to flinch visibly.

Noticing the flinch, Rachel turned a glare on her father. Her glare wilted under his expectant stare.

"Rachel Barbra, I expect an explanation."

Rachel bit her lip. "Daddy-"

Santana and Quinn flanked her, each of them taking one of her hands.

"These are my girlfriends."


	38. Melody (S/R, Q)

"Wow. I had no idea she was that- that-"

"Amazing?" Santana finished for Quinn, smirking. "Yeah. My girl is that good." She hadn't taken her eyes off the stage where Rachel was singing her heart out.

"She's really making this up on the fly?"

"She listens to the music a time or two first, usually, just in case it does something unexpected. But right now, yeah. She's totally making this up as she goes."

Quinn stared in disbelief at Rachel. The girl everyone always underestimated except when it came to music. Except it turned out that even believing she was the best of them, they were still underestimating her talent.

That was just- Quinn had no idea one tiny girl could hold so much wonder. Glancing sideways at Santana, Quinn felt something akin to a burning jealousy.


	39. Clan (S/R, Berry Family)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from One Word Prompt #36, Clan.

"I can't believe you punched Rodrigo," Rachel said, stunned.

"Prick deserved it," Santana muttered. She massaged her knuckles. "Nobody talks to you that way.  _Especially_ not when I'm around."

Rachel took Santana's hand and examined it to make sure Santana hadn't hurt herself. "He's always like that, Santana. Punching him isn't going to change his behavior. Knowing him, it will probably get worse. You know how I get about a challenge- It's something of a Berry family trait."

Santana's expression darkened. "Well, I can get a lot worse, too, and I guarantee he'll regret it before I do."

"I don't want either of you to regret it."

"And I don't want to hear you getting slammed and doing nothing to protect yourself. Rach, I've seen you do that too much- Hell, I've probably caused more of it than they have-"

"And you've more than made up for it," Rachel cut her off. "You're so set on protecting me from anything and everything you possibly can, and I love you so much for it, but I don't want you doing it because you feel guilty."

"That's not the only reason I do it. I mean, yeah, I still look at you sometimes and all I can do is wonder how many times we must have slushied you and how many times we called you things, but I just hate hearing that people don't love you as much as I do. You're so amazing. You deserve a lot more than me."

"Santana, don't say that like you're not good enough. You're more than good enough. You're perfect, okay? You're perfect for me. I love all of you, even when you let your temper get the best of you." Rachel flashed a grin. "Plus, it's  _really_ hot."

Santana burst out in unexpected laughter. "It is, huh?"

"Yup." Rachel sidled closer, walking her fingers up Santana's arm. "You have no idea how excited it makes me."

"Sounds like you want me to find out." Santana slipped her arms around Rachel, hands dipping low on Rachel's behind.

"Mm-hm," Rachel agreed. "You may be right."

"It's too bad you object to semi-public sex, Rach, or we wouldn't have to wait until we get home to scratch your itch."

Rachel pouted, then purposefully scanned the region around them. Eyes settling on a point, she stepped away from Santana and started pulling her in that direction. "I may be able to make an exception just this once- Although it's more quasi-public than semi-"

Santana was delighted. Finally, she'd turned Rachel on so much that Rachel couldn't wait. Santana would have to find excuses to get pissed off more often, if it got this kind of reaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in Randoms #52, Clan.


	40. Bed (Q/R)

"Take me to bed," Rachel demanded, flopping down lengthwise on the couch as she did so.

"Gladly," Quinn replied, knowing that Rachel really needed to sleep and recuperate. She sat down on the edge of the couch and put her hands on Rachel's back, slowly massaging up and down. She could feel the tight knots of tension in Rachel's muscles that came from long hours of rehearsals, pushing the cast hard and herself harder in her efforts to make everything perfect. "Baby, you need to take a day off. You're going to hurt yourself, or make yourself sick, and then where would you be?"

Rachel groaned. She rolled over to look up at Quinn, one arm thrown up to protect her eyes from the light of the room. "Really, Quinn?"

"I don't want anything to go wrong, Rachel, and right now all I can see is you heading straight for a disaster of your own making. And more than that, I _hate_ seeing you get hurt or sick. I love you, baby, and I hate seeing it, but you're a pain in the ass when you need to be taken care of."

"Like you're much better."

Quinn was like a bear with a sore paw when she was sick, complaining endless about being miserable but growling at anyone who tried to fix it.

"Let's just get you to bed for now, alright? We'll talk about the day off after you've gotten a little bit of sleep."

Rachel gave her an exhausted smile. "It's alright. No need to talk. I'm definitely taking a day off. I'm thinking tomorrow. And maybe a second day, because I feel like I've been neglecting some very important wifely duties."


	41. Inn (Q, R, S, B, NP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from One Word Prompts #27, Dragon.

"No inn? What do you mean there's no inn? What the hell is wrong with this town?" Santana asked in outrage. Her eyes narrowed at Quinn, who was grinning behind her cardboard wall. "There's something wrong with this town, isn't there?"

"Quit metagaming, San, and maybe you'll find out," Quinn admonished.

"I'm not metagaming! That's wisdom! There's nothing intelligence about this. Perception check! Conan's good at those now! He would so know if there was something fishy going on here."

"Fishy's right," Rachel repeated, nose wrinkled. "Why do we have to stop in a fishing village? Those places are nasty."

"How would you know? You've never been to a fishing village," Santana griped.

"No, but I imagine they're rather nasty and smelly. And I'm sure Glenda had been to one, so she would know."

"Guys. Focus, please," Quinn said, drawing their attention back to her.

"Well, see, I would, but there's _no inn_ and I find it disturbing," Santana repeated.

"Funny how she was all 'No Perception checks!' before, but now she's all about them," Puck muttered to Brittany, who giggled.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Fine. Conan has an uneasy feeling about the town's lack of an inn. Now what are you going to do about it?"


	42. Giddy (Q/R, Q/Library, Girl)

"This is so amazing," Quinn said in awe as she turned in a slow circle, eyes drinking in the sights around them.

If she were anyone else, Rachel knew she would be bouncing around like a kid who'd had too much caffeine. This was about as close to that as she'd ever seen Quinn get. Sure, Quinn was happy a lot, even joyful or rapturous, but she hardly ever expressed it overtly. Most of the time she showed it only in her eyes, or subtly in the way she moved and the words she chose.

But now, here, Quinn's face was openly showing her utter amazement that she was actually here, actually seeing the walls upon walls of books that had to have decades of dust on them, if Rachel was any judge. She didn't know how Quinn could be so ecstatic to see dusty paper. But if Quinn was happy, Rachel was more than happy to sit around in a dusty old library while Quinn hopped around like a toddler and gingerly picked up this book and then that one.

Rachel sneezed, and held up her hands defensively when Quinn shot her a look. "Sorry."

Quinn's look turned apologetic, and Rachel smiled, waving her off to explore. She was going to take the opportunity to sit down and do some reading of her own- Albeit of a more contemporary nature.

By the time Rachel got tired of her book, and her stomach was growling loud enough to draw the attention of someone else, it had been a couple of hours, and Quinn was nowhere to be found.

Rachel considered waiting a bit longer to see if Quinn showed up again anytime soon. The blonde had checked in a time or two to see if Rachel was terribly bored yet, and Rachel had assured her she was fine. She really was kind of bored, but she couldn't bear to put a damper on Quinn's day.

Her stomach rumbled again, and Rachel gave up. At the very least, they needed to leave long enough to get something to eat. They could come back again later. They certainly _would_ come back, given Quinn's fascination. Rachel had the sneaking suspicion that Quinn was already planning several more visits, and that if she ever found that Quinn was missing, she should look here first.

Hunting around the maze of shelves, Rachel found herself turned around completely, finding her starting point by accident when she edged around a sharp corner, and running into dead ends twice before she finally found Quinn.

Quinn was crouched down on the ground next to a little girl, helping her to page through one of the dusty tomes. When she got closer, Rachel could hear Quinn reading aloud as she pointed to certain parts of the pages. She smiled. Next to books, Quinn's second greatest love was for children.

Quinn looked up and saw Rachel, and smiled brilliantly. "Hey, baby."

"Hi."

"Did you finally get bored?" Quinn asked. She would be disappointed if they had to leave, but Rachel had already indulged her long past what Quinn had expected, given the diva's level of patience.

"No." Rachel had changed her mind the minute she saw Quinn with the little girl. She wasn't going to tear Quinn away just yet. "I just wanted to see what you were doing."

Her stomach chose that moment to remind her of the real reason she had gone hunting for Quinn, and she blushed lightly. The little girl giggled.

"Liar," Quinn accused her jokingly. "You just wanted to get out of here so we could feed the monster you're hiding."

"Maybe just a little bit," Rachel admitted. "But I don't want to make you leave if you're not ready. I can just go out and find a cafe or something."

"No, it's alright. I'm sure Becca won't mind if I have to leave, will you, Becca?"

The little girl looked up with a gap-toothed grin. "Nope. You promised to come back on Thursday. But you have to be here."

"I promised didn't I? I'll be here."

Rachel laughed as her prediction that Quinn would be making regular trips here was confirmed. If she wasn't careful, her girlfriend was going to be stolen from her by a pile of inanimate objects.

Well, at least Rachel knew several things she could do for Quinn that books never could. She would have to give Quinn a thorough reminder tonight, once they were back in the privacy of their apartment.

That was a decidedly more attractive thought than spending eons with books, that was for sure.


	43. Steal (S/R, Q/R)

"She's stealing you from me!" Santana shouted at Rachel as she pointed at Quinn, who stood there stunned as Santana raved.

Rachel, equally stunned, let Santana rave before she gathered her thoughts together. "Santana, she's doing no such thing. Where would you get that idea?"

Quinn looked vaguely guilty as Santana turned nearly apoplectic. "Where would I- It's all over the school! I can't believe you would hide this from me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Don't play dumb," Santana snarled. Rachel looked honestly confused, but she was also an incredible actress. Santana couldn't trust that Rachel wasn't just putting on a front. "You two've been going out and being all cozy together-"

"We're just friends, Santana!"

All of Rachel's attention was on Santana, but Santana noticed Quinn's slowly growing expression of guilt.

"You! Quinn-" Santana fairly vibrated as she restrained herself. "What are you doing?"

"S-"

"Don't 'S' me. Just tell it to me straight. You owe me at least that much."

Quinn glanced at Rachel, who stared back, pleading with Quinn to explain what was going on.

"I... I have feelings for Rachel," she finally admitted.

Santana's eyes widened in horror when Rachel blushed prettily. No. This could not be happening.


	44. Oracle (Q/R/S)

Santana dropped into the waiting room chair next to Quinn's exhaustedly, limbs akimbo. "I can't believe her. A psychic? Really? She's in the _hospital_ , and she wants to see a _psychic_? I thought she had tonsilitis, not a fucking brain injury."

Quinn flicked her gaze sideways before going back to her magazine as she waited patiently. "It's Rachel. She's terrified she's going to lose her voice. She'll be fine, but she won't believe it until she's been reassured by every single source she can possibly get. Just be glad Leroy took her phone before she could start Googling."

"Ugh." That was a nightmarish thought, indeed. Rachel would have run screaming from the building the moment she got wind of a single surgery gone wrong, no matter how many thousands went right. "Still... I wish she wanted us in there."

Quinn reached sideways and took Santana's hand, lacing their fingers and resting them on her leg. "I know. But she'll be okay. And as soon as it looks like she really will have to do this, she'll be calling us in there so we can hold her hands every step of the way."

Santana rearranged herself in her chair, half climbing into Quinn's as she laid her head on the blonde's shoulder. Quinn laid her head on Santana's. The dark girl needed the comfort just as much as Rachel did, and Quinn would give her as much as she could.

Santana shifted, turning further into Quinn. "I'm so glad you're here, Q."

Quinn smiled. "Me, too, S. Me, too."

"I just can't believe she wanted to see a fucking _psychic_."


	45. Earth (R/B, R/S, R/B/S, NP, K, Q)

" _-Earth Wind Water and Fire_  
_Can't get in the way, when I'm running to you-_ "

"Who the hell showed her this song?" Kurt demanded as he appeared out of the crowd with a stormy scowl.

Karaoke night had become a regular thing for most of the Glee club. Though they couldn't all make it every week, there was usually enough of them to make the night interesting and give the other patrons a show as they competed amongst themselves.

Every hand pointed to Brittany, who smiled at Kurt as if blissfully unaware that she'd done anything wrong.

"I like it," she said, head bobbing slightly to the beat.

Kurt wanted to slam his forehead onto the table in frustration. How could he possibly have forgotten Rachel's newly discovered crush on their best dancer? If there was anything predictable about Rachel, it was her reliance on song to convey her emotions. And it wasn't like Rachel could dare do anything overt, like sing to Brittany personally- Santana would _murder_ her, probably on the spot, and do so with sadistic delight.

Unfortunately for Rachel, Santana wasn't stupid, and Rachel was anything _but_ subtle. She couldn't be subtle if someone taped the definition to her forehead and made her read it every hour on the hour for a month. Which meant Santana knew exactly what was going on, even if everyone else didn't, and the murderous scowl growing on the Latina's face showed as much.

Kurt wondered if he'd have time to warn Rachel before she made it back to the table. He was about to get up so he could meet Rachel coming off the stage when Santana shot out of the booth in the direction of the stage, leaving Kurt to stare after her in horror. He was going to have to explain to the police why his best friend had been torn to pieces before his very eyes, he just knew it.

He was stopped from getting up to go after Santana by a hand on his arm, and he turned to see Brittany watching him with a shockingly aware look in her eyes.

"It's alright, Kurt," she assured him. "San won't hurt her."

Kurt's eyes widened. "What are you-"

She shook her head, and he trailed off.

"I'm supposed to just leave Rachel alone with _that_?"

Brittany frowned, and Kurt recoiled slightly, automatically looking around to make sure Santana couldn't see it. "San's not a 'that', Kurt. And she's not going to hurt her."

Kurt was still worried, but he let himself trust Brittany and hoped Rachel came back in one piece.

When she came off the stage, Rachel's eyes widened when she saw Santana standing there, watching her with sharp eyes and an aggressive line to her shoulders.

"S-Santana," Rachel stuttered out. Maybe she hadn't been as subtle as she'd hoped. Maybe she should have taken Kurt's advice and sung something different with him, instead of trying to serenade Brittany.

Santana grabbed her by the wrist. "You and me needs to have a talk, midget." Santana started dragging Rachel towards the door.

Rachel stumbled lightly before hopping to keep up, glancing over at where the rest of the club was sitting, but they were completely obscured by the crowd. Glancing back at Santana, Rachel hoped she wasn't about to be murdered and dumped in a gutter somewhere.

She sent up more prayers when Santana pulled them out the front doors and off to the side, stopping once they had relative privacy.

Rachel was surprised when Santana actually let her go and started pacing, hardly looking at Rachel as she muttered lowly in Spanish to herself in a voice laden with frustration. Rachel tracked her movements, her worry for herself fading, replaced with worry for Santana.

"Santana, is there something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

Santana abruptly stopped pacing, spinning to face Rachel. "Yeah, there's something wrong," she said, voice still low.

Rachel swallowed at the look in Santana's eyes. "Is... This about me singing that song?"

Confusion briefly replaced Santana's sharp focus before Santana dismissed it with a shake of her head. "You singing to Britt?" Rachel cursed inwardly. She really had been that obvious. "No. Sort of. If you want Britt, you can have her."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "What do you- Aren't you-" She ground to a halt when Santana smirked.

Santana's eyes were dark in their intensity. "No. Me and Britt are cool. We're serious, but- We're a bit different. The only reason I'm not going to tell you to back the fuck off and stay away from her is that you never do anything by halves and you're honest- Which means you're not going to hurt her because you don't want to, instead of just because I'll murder you if you don't treat her right. So if you want her, you can have her. But I get to keep her."

"Santana, what is that supposed to mean?" Rachel scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "If you're assuming my feelings are in any way transitory in nature-"

"Shut up, Berry," Santana snapped. She stepped up, into Rachel's space, making the smaller girl take a step back. "It means that Brittany is always going to be with me. She may be with you, or anyone else, too- But she'll _always_ be with me. Everyone else she dates is secondary to _me_. So if you want her, you have to share. And you get the smaller piece."

Rachel inched away, trying to put some space between herself and Santana so she could think properly. She'd admitted to Kurt that she found herself feeling things for Brittany that perhaps weren't on the platonic side, and were strong enough that she couldn't just do _nothing_ about them- What she hadn't told him was that Brittany wasn't the only one she had feelings for.

She hadn't told him about the other girl she had feelings for because she knew he would think she was utterly insane, and would probably try to have her committed. Given who those feelings were for, she wouldn't have blamed him. Rachel Berry having feelings for Brittany Pierce was odd, but acceptable, because Brittany was kind and sweet to everyone. Rachel Berry having feelings for Santana Lopez, on the other hand- That was downright wrong by most people's standards, given the treatment Rachel usually received from her.

Every time Santana got up close like this, though, Rachel hardly heard what the Latina was saying about her. It wasn't hard to tune out the words when she could focus instead on how hot the fiesty attitude Santana wore like a second skin was. It was harder to tune out the cold slushy shower that often followed, but Rachel took it for what it was- A signal that she was barking up the wrong tree, and that she should focus her attentions elsewhere.

Which was what led to her current predicament. She'd managed to- mostly- turn her gaze away from Santana, but only by a hair as she found her new focus in Brittany. Who was indelibly linked to Santana, as Santana had just said.

Rachel couldn't deny that that was a large part of her initial interest in Brittany, and was probably still a significant, if no longer majority, portion of it.

Santana had inadvertently given Rachel the green light for everything she'd been hoping for out of her interest in Brittany.

"Santana, are you serious?"

"Berry, if you're stupid enough to think I'd ever joke about Brittany like this, I take back everything I just said," Santana growled.

"No, I just-" Rachel took a deep breath. Wow. Just wow. "Thank you, Santana."

Santana's eyes widened at Rachel's grateful response. She straightened up as she stared down at Rachel with some consternation. "For what?"

"For letting me pursue Brittany." Rachel tilted her head a bit. "Did you think I would back off just because I might have to share? Santana, I may go all or nothing in most aspects of my life, and I may be particularly cut throat when it comes to singing, but I do know how to share. And I would hardly be settling for less than I wanted if I have to share Brittany's affections with _you_."

Santana's knee-jerk reaction was to assume Rachel's words were meant to denigrate her in some way before the obvious reverence in them sunk in.

"With _me_? What, do you have some kind of twisted-" Santana stopped. "You do, don't you?" Her voice held a quiet wonder. "You've got feelings for me, too." Her voice rose. "Or is it just me, and you're too afraid to go for it? Huh, Berry, is that it? Letting your fear get the better of you and using Brittany to get close to me?"

Rachel backpedaled under Santana's sudden onslaught of accusations. "What- No! Well, yes-"

" _Bitch_ ," Santana snarled as she grabbed Rachel's shirt.

Rachel grabbed Santana's hand, trying to push her away. "No! Santana, let me- I like you _both_!" she shouted as her back hit the stone wall of the building, Santana having pushed her back into it.

Santana froze, hand pinning Rachel to the wall. The sound of their heavy breathing was all they could hear over the quiet muddle of sound coming through the walls of the building.

"You-" Santana's voice cut off. "You really do- For me?"

"Yes," Rachel said tentatively.

"And Britt?"

Rachel nodded.

"Both of us?"

Rachel nodded again.

Santana suddenly released Rachel, and Rachel ooph'd as her heels hit the ground. She hadn't realized she was being held up that high.

Santana muttered something in Spanish that Rachel was fairly sure included the word insane. She looked down.

"Santana, I-" Fingers brushed her jaw and Rachel stopped. Looking up through her eyelashes, she was bewildered by the wonder Santana was staring at her with.

Suddenly Santana was closer to her, but her pose was far from the intimidating one she'd adopted earlier.

"So, you have... _feelings_ for both me and Britt," Santana said, giving Rachel one more chance to change or correct her story.

Rachel swallowed, then nodded.

"If I kissed you, then," Santana leaned forward until her breath mixed with Rachel's. "You wouldn't run screaming?"

Eyes locked with Santana's, Rachel gave a small shake of her head. Definitely not. Carefully, still wary of Santana's reaction, Rachel reached out to put her hands on Santana's hips, closing the distance between them a little more.

Finally getting her daring together, Santana pressed her lips to Rachel's.

Heat ignited between them, and half a second later Rachel was pressed against the wall as Santana's body molded into hers.

They hardly noticed when the door to the club slammed open.

"Even if you say I have nothing to worry about, it's Rachel and _Santana_ and I can't believe- Oh holy mother of god!" Kurt's sharp cry had them jerking apart and twisting to stare at where Kurt, along with the rest of the Glee club present for the night, was standing stunned at the sight of them.

"Fucking _sweet_!" Puck's exclamation followed Kurt's.

Santana and Rachel ignored the both of them in favor of seeking out Brittany. She was standing next to Kurt, a sunny smile on her face.

"Does this mean we can share sweet lady kisses then?"

Santana and Rachel could only nod faintly.

"At least Finn's not here," Tina mumbled quietly.

In the background, Puck's cheers were cut short as Quinn backhanded his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, followed by a command of "Shut up."


	46. Intoxicated (Q/R, S)

"Woo! Another round all 'round!"

"Oh my god, we should have gotten her drunk ages ago," Santana whispered to Quinn as they watched Rachel toss back another shot.

"Drunk? By now she should be passed out drooling- How is she still _standing_?"

"Do we really care?" Santana asked rhetorically. "As long as she's being _fun_ instead of _irritating_ for once, I certainly don't."

Quinn's concern didn't fade as she watched Rachel chat and flirt with everyone around her. "I don't want her dead just because we made her come out to have our kind of fun. And I don't want her going home with some asshole who's going to take advantage of a drunk girl- _Look_ at her, Santana!"

Santana had to give Quinn points for that argument- Until she saw who Rachel was cozying up to. "Q, I don't think we need to worry about some douchebag picking her up. I think she's going to be the one picking, and she's definitely not choosing someone who can knock her up like you did."

Quinn shot Santana a dirty look. Looking back to Rachel, she almost spilled her own drink when she saw what Santana was referring to.

Rachel was leaning heavily on the bar, body turned sideways and shoulders tipped forward as she talked to a girl sitting on a stool. As Quinn watched, Rachel reached out and touched the outer seam of the girl's jeans at the knee, then trailed up and down it with her fingers, all without looking down to take her attention off of the girl's face.

By now the girl had turned to face Rachel fully, and, talking animatedly, Rachel took her hand off the girl's leg to make a big gesture, touched the girl's elbow before gesturing again, and then settled her hand openly on the girl's knee.

"Methinks Berry's been hiding a few things from us." Santana chuckled. "And I think the first is that this is so, so not her first time in a bar. There's no way she's got that much game built in."

Quinn begged to differ, though she said nothing outright. Rachel was always one for quiet touches. Testing the water, so to speak, before moving on to bolder gestures. That Santana had never been on the receiving end of Rachel's attention simply meant that Rachel had the good sense to know that getting that close to Santana was like getting that close to a shark, and that Rachel had backed off as soon as she realized it.

"And she's knocking back those shots like a pro- Seriously, I repeat, how is that girl still _standing_?"

Quinn ignored that fact that she was the one who'd initially asked that as she admitted that that point went to Santana. Unless Rachel simply had an ungodly natural alcohol tolerance, she had to be a seasoned vet to be handling her liquor as well as she was.

She saw Rachel glance over at them, and the girl she was talking with glanced over as well. She asked Rachel something, and Rachel glanced over a second time, eyes lingering on Quinn, before she shook her head and looked back.

When Rachel gestured to the barkeeper for another shot, Quinn decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"I've got to go stop her," she said to Santana before she slipped away. She ignored Santana's groan.

Quinn wasn't about to let Rachel drink herself to death. And she wasn't going to let Rachel make a fool of herself or do something she'd regret in the morning by having some drunken one night stand. Especially not with some dumb blonde who clearly wasn't as drunk as Rachel was, and who certainly looked skanky enough to be carrying some kind of disease.

As she reached them, the distance between Rachel and the girl closed as Rachel took a half step forward that placed her squarely between the girl's legs.

A growl rumbled in Quinn's throat at the sight. She forced an air of nonchalance as she cleared her throat.

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed in delight. "You should meet Amanda- She's awesome! And really pretty- You agree, right? Her earrings really match her eyes!"

The slightly disjointed ramble proved to Quinn that yes, Rachel really was that drunk. "Yeah, right- Look, Rach, I was thinking it might be time to head out or something."

Rachel surprised her when she nodded. "We were just talking about our plans for the rest of the night," she said with a grin. "If you want to go, though, maybe Amanda could give me a ride?" Rachel directed her question at Amanda.

Quinn barely contained her scowl. "I don't think that's a very good idea, Rach."

Rachel pouted. "But Quinn, I'm not ready to stop having fun, and if we go home you're going to leave me at my apartment all by myself and it'll be really boring."

"I'm happy to take Rae home when she's ready to go," Amanda purred, putting an arm around Rachel.

Rachel gave a 'so there' nod. "See, Quinn? Amanda's okay with it. So unless you're going to have fun with me-"

Damn it- "Alright, fine." She was gratified to see that Rachel was surprised by her apparent dismissal. "Come on, I'll take you home. We can do whatever you want to do." Quinn knew that would get Rachel's attention as the diva's eyes lit up.

"Whatever I want?"

"Even if you wanna sing karaoke until six in the morning." Quinn knew she would regret that when she woke up to a thundering headache, but if it got Rachel away from this woman's grubby paws then she would gladly listen to Rachel sing through her hangover.

Rachel was out of Amanda's embrace and latching onto Quinn in a heartbeat. "Quinn, you are the bestest friend I've ever had. Karaoke!"

Quinn was too relieved to have Rachel away from Amanda to worry further about the headache she would be facing. She gave a triumphant smirk when she saw Amanda giving her a dirty look over the top of Rachel's head. Rachel was her friend, and there was no way some slut Rachel had known for five minutes could displace her. Just to rub it in, Quinn wrapped her arm around Rachel the way Amanda had just a minute ago as she guided Rachel back through the crowd to pick up Santana and tell her they were leaving.

Surprisingly, Santana put up only a little resistance. She took one look between them before raising an eyebrow at Rachel and giving Quinn a knowing look that confused the blonde to the point that when she asked about it, Santana just laughed and said she'd find out later.

The cab they flagged down took Santana home first, and Santana just cackled while Rachel hugged Quinn, snuggling into her at the first opportunity she got. Quinn flushed bright red when Santana asked if she'd offered to take what's-her-name's place, and if that's how she got Rachel away from her. Rachel laughed and said Quinn said she would do anything, even listen to Rachel sing karaoke.

Santana looked impressed at the offer, and the look she gave Quinn was that much more knowing, and held a lot more 'you are so whipped', which earned her a glare from Quinn.

When they finally reached Rachel's apartment, Quinn resigned herself to at least a few hours of listening to Rachel. The diva didn't look like she'd tired out at all during the cab ride.

"So, what are you going to regale me with first?" Quinn asked.

Rachel took a few steps in front of Quinn, then turned to face her, hands clasped behind her back as she bounced on her toes.

"I don't want to sing."

You could have heard a pin fall in the silence that followed that statement. Quinn gaped in astonishment, unable to believe what she'd just heard. "Did someone slip something in one of your drinks?"

Rachel frowned at her. "Do you really think I'd be that careless? No, no one spiked my drink, as I only had the one at our table."

"You were doing shots at the bar like there was no tomorrow!"

"And I drank them as fast as I got them, so unless the bartender was the one drugging me, no one had a chance to. And I have a perfectly good reason to not want to! I hope. If it turns out to be a really bad idea then I may end up singing until I no longer feel like crying, but-" Rachel looked down nervously, and kicked the ground with her toe. "You said you'd do anything I wanted, right? Well... I want to- You can say no, but-" Rachel appeared to grow frustrated with herself.

Quinn had turned alarmed at the mention of Rachel crying. Rachel seemed to want something from her, and Quinn wondered what it could possibly be that Rachel thought Quinn might say no to. Quinn was willing to stay up until hell-o-clock listening to a smashed Rachel sing until she couldn't anymore. And while Quinn normally loved hearing Rachel sing, this singing was certain to include Rachel dragging Quinn into singing with her, and Quinn just did not sing well when drunk. Which would lead to drunken lectures and attempts at lessons with the both of them drunk, and both of them knew how bad that would be, even if Rachel was incredibly drunk.

So for Quinn to be willing to endure that, what could Rachel want from her?

"Rach, sweetheart-"

Rachel's lips on hers stopped Quinn from continuing. Rachel had thrown caution to the winds, and Quinn's mind damn near exploded from the mix of shock, pleasure, and relief- _This_ she could handle. She'd been wanting this for weeks- Maybe months, but she'd only just recently admitted it to herself, and didn't want to think about how long she might have been denying it.

Recognizing that she may have a pattern of judging Rachel's suitors and proceeding to drive them off as subtly as possible in fits of jealousy was something she was eager to avoid for as long as possible. She just knew Santana was going to tease her for this for forever-

All rational thought left Quinn's mind when Rachel deepened the kiss aggressively, and she heard herself moan.

Rachel pried herself away at the sound, hastily withdrawing a few feet and staring down at the ground. "I'm sorry for pushing mys-"

This time it was Rachel who was cut off as Quinn kissed her again.

Rachel grinned helplessly when they finally broke apart. Quinn almost thought her face might break in two from how hard she was grinning.

"I am _so_ glad that worked," Rachel said. "Thank god Santana was right."

"Santana?" Quinn's brow furrowed. The almost sickening thought that this was some kind of joke crossed her mind before she forced it away. There was no way Rachel would do something like that, and even Santana would never do that to a friend. "What does she have to do-"

"Nothing! She just... Gave me a pep talk, I guess."

" _Santana_ gave you a pep talk? About kissing _me_?"

Rachel blushed. "Well, maybe it was more like she told me to get my head out of my ass and open my eyes, but when translated into something closer to normal human speech-"

"She saw this before we did," Quinn finished. "That explains the looks she was giving me."

"That may also be the argument she used to get me to agree to go out tonight. Although I may have gotten a touch carried away-"

Quinn's eyes narrowed in accusation as something occurred to her. "You manipulated me."

"Only with the best of intentions! I needed to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Quinn, you have no idea how much I-" Rachel went wide-eyed as she bit off the rest of her sentence.

Quinn was equally wide-eyed. She hoped Rachel was going to say what she thought she was going to say. "Rach... I'm pretty sure I've been scaring off your boyfriends and girlfriends for a couple of years now. That seems like a good indication of how _I_ feel." Quinn couldn't bring herself to outright say she loved Rachel- Not when they were both reeling from the realization and relief that they weren't going to be rejected outright.

They silently agreed that waiting until morning- or afternoon- for a deeper discussion was probably a good idea.

Until then, though-

Quinn kissed Rachel again, possessively. "Let me show you just how much I hated you letting _Amanda_ put her hands all over you."


End file.
